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A (band)


A
Background information
Origin Suffolk, England, UK
Genre(s) Alternative rock
Years active 1995 – present
Website Official website
Members
Jason Perry (Lead vocals)
Mark Chapman (Guitar)
Daniel P Carter (Bass)
Giles Perry (Keyboard)
Adam Perry (Drums)
Former members
Steve Swindon (Bass)

A are a British alternative rock band. They formed in 1995 in Suffolk, England.

Contents

  • 1 History
    • 1.1 Recent events
    • 1.2 2007
  • 2 Discography
    • 2.1 Albums
    • 2.2 Live Albums
    • 2.3 Singles
    • 2.4 B-sides and rare tracks
  • 3 External links

History

The band known as 'A' formed in Leeds, England in the early 90s. The band was founded by three brothers, Jason, Adam and Giles Perry, and two friends, Mark Chapman and Steve Swindon. The original members cited their influences as: Rush, The Beach Boys, Van Halen and the Beastie Boys.

After changing their name from 'Grand Designs' and abandoning their early prog rock-inspired sound for a more punk rock style, they signed a European recording contract with British (Warner Bros. Records) in 1996 and released their debut LP How Ace Are Buildings in 1997. Also in 1997, the band briefly appeared in the music video for "Anthem" by The Wildhearts. The band found a healthy underground reception and even had a couple of low-charting singles in the UK. After the mild success brought to the band by How Ace Are Buildings, bassist Stevie Swindon decided to quit the band. He was replaced by current bassist and BBC Radio 1 Rock Show DJ Daniel P Carter. A licensing agreement for the American music market was reached with the North Carolina-based Mammoth Records. Future releases would be distributed in the U. S. and Canada by Mammoth. A second album 'A' Vs. Monkey Kong followed in 1999. The band then toured the world and enjoyed a small degree of success worldwide, especially in Germany.

Hi-Fi Serious was their third album, released in 2002. It was preceded by their biggest single to date, "Nothing", which saw the band reach the UK top ten for the first time, hitting number 9, and the further top 20 hit "Starbucks", which was named after the coffee chain. The release of the album was highly anticipated, but charted at a disappointing #18 considering that an album normally goes top 10 after its first single also does. The tour following Hi-Fi Serious saw the band playing their largest venues to date, headlining the 5000 capacity Brixton Academy as part of their 'Inner-City Sumo' Tour. At the end of the year they won the Kerrang! award for "Best British Band", their only award to date.

'A' released their fourth album, Teen Dance Ordinance (TDO), on June 27, 2005. The album had been recorded 2 years earlier, but was heavily delayed due to Jason Perry's illness and disputes with the record company. Unlike the last 2 albums, TDO was not released in the US. Hollywood Records agreed early on to release it in the US, but ultimately did not. The album charted at a disappointing #95 on the UK charts.

Recent events

Jason Perry is currently involved with writing, recording, and touring with Matt Willis, formerly of Busted. He has also written songs for the pop band McFly on their most recent album, two of which have gone to number 1 in the UK Singles Chart.

Adam (Perry) replaced Bloodhound Gang drummer Willie the New Guy for their 2005-6 European tour, and subsequently became the full-time drummer of the band.

Daniel P Carter is the new host of BBC Radio 1's Rock Show and hosted his first show on the 25th September 2006 from Midnight-2am. He continues writing material with Jason Perry, for artists such as McFly, as well as previously playing bass in Matt Willis' band for his first album.

Mark Chapman has joined a band called Malpracatice, whose debut single "Breathe" was released on February 19, 2007. Their website can be found at here.

The bands official website, A-Communication, has been shut down. A substitute forum has been setup by the fans and can be found here.

2007

The organisers of the Desensitised festival, to be held on the 8th of September 2007, have announced that A will be one of four headline acts. See their MySpace page for details and tickets.

Discography

Albums

Date of Release Title Label U.K. Albums Chart Peak
July 29, 1997 How Ace Are Buildings Epic Records #
September 9, 1999 A vs. Monkey Kong Warner Music #62
March 4, 2002 Hi-Fi Serious London Records #19
June 27th, 2005 Teen Dance Ordinance Warner Music #95

Live Albums

Singles

B-sides and rare tracks

See: Chronology of A B-sides

External links